Japan Picks Up After Earthquake, Tsunami

Yesterday’s massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake moved the Japanese coast of Honshu Island about 8 feet in places and was powerful enough to cause the Earth’s axis to wobble about 4 inches. It also created a tsunami roughly as powerful as the big Indonesian quake produced back in 2004. While the death toll remains low compared to the 2004 quake, the damage caused to parts of Japan is staggering. Adding insult to injury is the latest fear that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant may release massive amounts of radiation into the atmosphere if the reactor is overly damaged.

At the end of the day, however, because the Japanese are well-prepared for earthquakes and tsunamis they generally kept their cool during this disaster. Here’s the grocery store clip seen on most news outlets:

Our thoughts and prayers go out to those in Japan as well as the other areas across the Pacific affected by the tsunami.